The importance of sustainable development has been a concern of the international community for a number of years. Primary energy consumption continues to grow and there is a need for generation of electricity via non-polluting means. PV can meet this demand in part and through the Local Agenda 21 initiative, social housing can play a real part. A project funded under the ALTENER scheme is currently being carried out in 5 European countries, including the UK. The goal of the project is to gauge the current situation of PV in social housing and to devise and implement strategies to enhance the adoption of PV. The contribution of Reading University to the project (in collaboration with IT Power) was a detailed survey of social housing schemes in the UK that have incorporated PV to generate mains electricity. The aim of the survey was to study the reasons that key players had to adopt PV in a social housing scheme. The majority of existing sites in the UK were visited and the housing provider was interviewed. Where appropriate, tenants and architects views were also ascertained. The data-gathered were analysed and recommendations were made. The overriding concern of housing providers was that the cost of PV is prohibitive, especially if the tenants are the only beneficiaries of the electricity. Housing associations found the prospect of PV appetising as a method of attracting clients away from competitors. Utilities require incentives to offer competitive payment for electricity-generated. The Government is attempting to instigate strategies to adopt PV, though more positive discrimination towards PV needs to be made.
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